


A Place in this World: Stars, Memories and Iwaizumi Hajime

by Serenity4Lifeee



Series: Taylor Swift 2021 Iwaoi Challenge [4]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Argentina, Established Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru, Homesick, Iwaizumi Hajime is a Good Boyfriend, M/M, Memories, Pro Volleyball Player Oikawa Tooru, Sad Oikawa Tooru, iwaoi - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-03
Updated: 2021-03-03
Packaged: 2021-03-18 16:35:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29736741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Serenity4Lifeee/pseuds/Serenity4Lifeee
Summary: “You’re doing worse than I thought,” Hajime commented idly, taking in his tearful expression and the mess that was his unpacked apartment through the opening in the door.orOikawa starts unpacking his apartment in Argentina and emotions are unpacked with it. He blames Iwaizumi.
Relationships: Iwaizumi Hajime/Oikawa Tooru
Series: Taylor Swift 2021 Iwaoi Challenge [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2085273
Kudos: 27





	A Place in this World: Stars, Memories and Iwaizumi Hajime

**_“I don’t know what I want, so don’t ask me_ **

**_‘Cause I’m still trying to figure it out_ **

**_Don’t know what’s down this road_ **

**_I’m just walking_ **

**_Trying to see through the rain coming down”_ **

Tooru stood on the balcony of his small apartment as he let his eyes wander across the view and people walking along the streets. He’d barely unpacked anything in the apartment, everything inside his new living space feeling too crowded and unfamiliar.

Tooru had come to Argentina to pursue a career in volleyball, but he had greatly underestimated how alone moving to a new country would make him feel. Just the thought of being so far away from all his family and friends was enough to make him doubt his decision. He was never really good at being alone.

“Fuck,” he muttered under his breath, turning away from the bright sun to walk back into his apartment. He slid the door shut behind him and stared at all the boxes piled up in his living room, making the small space appear even smaller. He was determined to make it look like home though, so Tooru padded to the nearest box and opened it.

He found newly bought unopened packages of glow in the dark stars and immediately remembered going out with his friends to buy stuff to put in his new place for when he moved. Tooru had only meant to buy one, but Makki had demanded he get more to put them all over his ceiling in every room he could. The memory was enough to make him snort a soft laugh as he pulled out the first package.

“People are going to think I’m crazy,” Tooru huffed as he set them off to the side for later. One package was more than enough, but maybe he could put some stars in the closet in his room, just like he’d done when he was younger.

He used to spend a lot of time in that closet then, and it’d been a place for him to hide and get away from life when things were especially bad. Every time without fail Hajime had found him there and would sit with him until he was ready to enter back out into the real world. The night before his flight to Argentina Hajime had found him there and stayed with him until the next morning when they’d both woken up in the cramped space with stiff muscles and achy limbs.

With a sigh Tooru grabbed the remaining two packages and set them with the first before looking back into the box. All that was left were some stickers and pins to hang things up as well as a few posters, so he moved away from the box and opened another one. The contents of the next box made him falter.

“Oh…” he whispered, picking up the first one so he could unwrap it. He found a framed graduation picture staring back at him, four sets of eyes trained on the person taking the picture, all sporting bright smiles as they held up their graduation certificates. He was on the far left, arm slung around Hajime’s shoulders as Mattsun crowded against Makki, pushing them all together.

Tooru set the picture to the side before he could think too much about how happy they’d all been at that moment and reached into the box again to pull out a small metal container. There was a pale yellow sticky note taped to the lid with Hajime’s handwriting in thick sharpie. “So you don’t forget,” it read.

Tooru pried off the lid to look at the contents inside and inhaled sharply, stepping back only to sink to the floor as his gaze stayed trained on what had to be hundreds of pictures, some polaroid and some not. There were so many of them and as he focused on the first one he could see he felt tears well up in his eyes.

He set the box in his lap and picked up the polaroid photo, recognizing it as a picture he’d taken during one of his and Hajime’s very first dates. There was only a fraction of himself in the image, the rest of it focused on Hajime as he sat further back, his usual glare in place and trained on Tooru. Despite the annoyed look Tooru noticed he wasn’t scowling, instead the hint of a smile pulling at his lips.

“So cruel,” Tooru murmured, staring at that almost smile that he could no longer see in person whenever he wanted.

His gaze moved to the next picture and he picked it up. It wasn’t a polaroid and looked as if it had been taken on someone’s phone. There was what appeared to be the tip of someone’s finger in the corner, but at the center was him and Hajime, both of them passed out asleep against each other on a bus ride home from a game. Makki was in the seat behind them holding up bunny ears over both of their heads and Tooru snorted, the wet feeling of a tear finally slipping down his cheek.

He flipped through a couple more photos, finding a bunch of pictures of his teammates, of his closest friends, his family and Hajime. He hadn’t even made it halfway through the stack and he was already bawling, tears cascading down his face and nose running as he finally pushed it all away, too much of a wreck to keep going.

He was almost too caught up in the rush of memories and emotions to hear his phone ding, and when he grabbed it from his pocket Tooru found a message from the culprit of his downfall.

**(Iwa-chan):** _Hey, are you at your apartment?_

He rubbed at his face with the back of his hand and frowned, typing out a quick response.

**(Tooru):** _Yes, and I don’t wanna talk to you right now_

**(Iwa-chan):** _Why? I haven’t done anything._

Tooru huffed, glaring at the box full of photographs and the lid with Hajime’s note as a stray tear escaped down his cheek.

**(Tooru):** _I found your stupid memory box and it made me cry! I thought I could trust you Iwa-chan!_

After a moment he got a reply.

**(Iwa-chan):** _Oh yeah. I figured you’d probably like something like that._

**(Tooru):** _Well I don’t! I absolutely hated it!_

The next reply took a little longer and Tooru stayed sitting, staring intently at his phone as he waited.

**(Iwa-chan):** _You’re not alone, Tooru. No matter how far away you are._

He stared at the message silently and in moments fresh tears were building in his eyes. He felt the rising urge to scream when a knock sounded through the apartment, stopping him. When he didn’t move he heard it again and it was enough to make him stand.

Tooru left his phone with the box of pictures and made his way to the door, quickly trying to make himself look presentable as he willed the new tears to stay back. He wasn’t sure who was at the door but he didn’t want to look like the mess he actually felt like at the moment.

When he reached the door he unlocked it and pulled it open, putting forth a smile that was a little too strained. That smile fell however when he saw who was on the other side of the door and the tears he’d been trying to hold back fell with it, sliding down his face in hot trails.

“You’re doing worse than I thought,” Hajime commented idly, taking in his tearful expression and the mess that was his unpacked apartment through the opening in the door.

“Hajime!” Tooru sobbed, unsure what else to say when Hajime was standing right there in front of him, alive and in person all the way in Argentina instead of where he was supposed to be in Japan.

“Come here, you big cry baby,” Hajime said, opening his arms. Tooru fell into him immediately, burying his face in his boyfriend’s shoulder as his body shook with the weight of his emotions. Hajime wrapped him in a tight embrace, holding him close in a way that could only be described as grounding.

“Why are you here?” Tooru whispered after he’d managed to calm down some.

“I thought you’d need someone to help you get settled. Guess I came at a good time.” Tooru nodded, pulling back to meet his boyfriend’s gaze. He felt disgusting, what with how he’d been crying, but Hajime only smiled, expression fond. “Ready to go inside? No one’s seen us yet, but you’re not exactly the prettiest of criers, and I don’t think anyone should have to see that.”

“Rude,” Tooru huffed, unable to stop himself from smiling. “But yeah. Let’s go inside.” With Hajime’s hand in his Tooru stepped back into his apartment, ready to finally unpack and settle down. Hajime wouldn’t stay forever, but Tooru would make the most of what little time they had before he left.

There was always another time, and starting anew with the person he loved at his side was definitely easier than starting alone.

Oikawa Tooru wasn’t alone. He would never be alone. He could find people in Argentina, and throughout it all he would always have those he knew back in Japan. But most importantly, he would always have Iwaizumi Hajime. Not even Argentina could take that from him.

**_“I’m alone, on my own_ **

**_And that’s all I know,_ **

**_I’ll be strong, I’ll be wrong_ **

**_Oh, but life goes on_ **

**_Oh, I’m just a girl_ **

**_Trying to find a place in this world”_ **

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
